Vehicle-wheel.



J. SCHIES.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. 1913.

1,142,985. Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

J. SCHIES.

VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. 1913.

Patented June 15, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

5 A ,/I v

a i said tire from the .Yao

pneumatic tires; and, furth novel means 'inwhich latter;

UNITED su'ATEs PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN SGHIES, 0F ANDERSON, INDIANA.

VEHICLE-WHEEL.

Application filed April 17,

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JonN SCHIES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Anderson, in the county of Madison and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

y invention relates to vehicle wheels employing a pneumatic cushion tire.

It isthe object of my invention to provide a novel protecting member to protect the in,-

. flated tube of the tire penetrating objects,

articles liable to injure the tube; further, to

from contact with such as nails, and other remove the flexible-tire from contact with the ground by novel means so'as to protect wear of the tractive movement or contact with the ground; further, to provide a novel protective casing for the flexible tire which is use in connection-with the usual standard er, to provide for mounting the protectivecasing, and the invention will-beJ-further readilyunderstood from the, following descriptionand claims, and from the drawings,

'Figure'l is a side elevation of my improved device, viewed in the direction of the arrow 1 in Fig. 3. F ig-.2 is a side elevation I of the same, partly broken away, and viewed beingshown as detachable. is arranged to be inflated, as

' comprises an outer flexible in the'direction of. the arrow 2 in Fig. 3. proved device taken on the 1g. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectionof my imline 33 ofFig. improved device, partly in section ig. 3; and, Fig. 5 is a cross-section, taken on a line corresponding to the line 3 -3 of Fig. 1, partly broken away, showing myimproved device applied in connection with a so-called clencher tire.

11 represents the body-member of a vehicle wheel, which, as it is usually constructed, embraces the hub 12, the rim 13, and the spokes 14. An inflatableor pneumatic tire encircles the body-member, and as shown member 16 and flexible member The inner tube through a usual an inner tube 17, the outer inflating valve 18 communicating with the "inner tube.

The flexible tire-member is encircled by a tread-member 21, exemplified as "made of a. plurality of metal parts so as to Specification of Letters Patent.

P ovi d wi h means n Placer-further to faces 30 of the base of the the the flexible-member 16- also. be provided .face of the annular Patented June 15, 1915. 1913. Serial No. 761,694. I

the tread-member in place,

I provide sideflanges 25,26." Th

ese side-flanges are exemplified as providedwith abutments to- Ward which the inner abutting faces of the outer flexible memberlG arearranged to be forced by the compressed air or fluid'in the inner tube 17 of the pneumatic structure. These abutments may be flat or of the socalled clencher type. Referring to Figs. 3 and 4:, these abutments for the bases of the flanges may be in vthe form of abutmentrings 27 received in annular clenchergrooves. 28, the abutments-rings having flat inner faces 29 against which the flat outer flexible casing are received.- The abutment-rings and clenchergrooves body-member. In Fig. 5 I have shown formed with a clencher-lip 16", which is also preferably annular about thebody-member, one of these clencher-lips .being located in clencherrooves 28.

A usua annular apron 31*may be received between the innertubeand the bases of the outer flexible tire-member. These bases may with annular retaining Wires 32 surroundingthe body-member.

The side-flanges 25, 26, are preferably annular members,.and are held against outward lateral displacement. In the present exemplification there is an annular band 40 received about the body-member, having a flange 41 at one edge thereof the outward movement of the base of the side-flange 25. The annular band is fill ther exemplified as provided withan annular groove 43 having an outer wall 44 in which a filling-ring 45 is received, this ring being a split-ring as shown at 45 which is readily removable, and is provided with a flange 46 and a bottom wall 47, the peripheral face of the latter coinciding with the peripheral face of the annular band 40. The base of the side-flange 26 is arranged to be located by the wall47 and the peripheral band 40. The outward movement of the flange 26 is limited by the preferably extend .annularly, about v 53 in recesses 54, 55,

annular band 40, the side-flange 26 also having slide-connection on the annular bottom wall l7 of the split-ring 45. The structure forms a quick-detachable means for the flexible tire'structure.

The flanges 25, 26, extend radially of the wheel and act as side-guides for the inwardly extending flanges 01, 52, of the tread-member 52-1. The treadmember is thus positioned laterally. Inorder to limit rotary movement between the body-member and the treadmember and permit vertical movement between said members, I provide impact disks respectively in the sideflanges 25, '26, and in the side-flanges 51, 52. These disks have free movement between the walls of the recesses which register with each other. T hese impact disks are shown as provided with cushions, shown in the form of rubber rings 56 around the edges of said disks. These disks their position therein being dependent on the relative positions of the coacting flanges. The parts are assembled while the inflatable member is deflated, and to permit relative rotation between the parts of the treadmember in assembling, I provide openings 57 at one of the sets of mating recesses, to permit the lccl'ing disks to he slipped thereinto after assembling of the parts of the tread-member, the openings being closed by capszBS. I prefer to provide the tread-member with a solid cushion-tread, shown as a departing from two-part tread 59, received annularly about the tread-men'iber. Each part is prefera located in an annular rabbet 60 in one of the parts of the tread-member. T hese cushion tread'parts are preferably held in place against lateral displacement by annular shoulders (31 and by contact with each other. The tread-member is provided preferably with an inner annular bearing-surface 62 upon which the flexible tire-structure is arranged to bear. a

If desired, the annular band i0 may be made demountable with relation to the body-member of the wheel. I exemplify means by which this may be accomplished, but it is obvious that other means for quickdemountably mounting the annular band on the body-mcmber may be employed without the spirit of my invention. Thus 65 is an annular supporting band reeeivedabout the rim 13. It is provided with wedge face 67 in the mounting and float in said recesses,

an annularwedge face 66 and an annular wedge face 67 enacting respectively with annular wedge faces ('18, (39, on the annular band 40. the coacting wedge faces 66, (58,

I being preferably of larger diameters than' the annular wedge faces (37, (59, so that the wedge face (38 may be received past tdhe mounting of the annular band 40.. v

71 is a shoulder-plate annularly arranged at the side of the rim 13 and provided with a shoulder 72 with which a shoulder 73 onthe annular band 65 is arranged to coact.

Blocks 7t are arranged to coact with the shoulder 75 on the bandAO for clamping the band 40 upon the supporting band 65. These blocks are arranged atintervals annularly about said bands. The clamping force upon the blocks may be exerted by clamp-nuts 76 threaded about the threaded ends 77 of tie-bolts 78, the otherends of said tie-bolts being provided with heads 79 holding said plate 71. The clamping blocks '7 are preferably provided with clamping lips 79 which extend radially a greater distance from the axis of the tie-bolt than the heels S0 of the blocks, so that said blocks may be turned into positions out of the range of the longitudinal projection of the annular band 40, so that the annular band may be readily removed for demounting the combined tirestructure and protective easing. For locating the blocks in releasing positions, a band 81 is provided at the outer face of. the rim in clamping relationwith-theclamping shoulder 7 5 or when the block is swung half way around, so that its heel-end S0 is adjacent to the said shoulder 75. i

The tread-member, in operation, forms a protection for the pneumatic tire-structure and prevents the same from contacting with the ground, and, in the form sh tread-member and its connecting parts form a protecting casing for the pneumatic tirestrueture. Thetread-member is arrange have sliding movement upon the flanges 26, in a vertical direction, dependent on the yielding movements permitted by the pneumatic tire-structure. The relative movements between the flanges of the tread-structure and the flanges extending outwardly from the body-member'are preferably suf-' ficient in extent to permit the desired extent the tread-member, which permits riding,

own, the

next smaller cross-section without appreciably increasing the cross-sectional dimensions of the cushion-portion of the wheel. Thus I am permitted to substitute athree and one-half inch diameter tire for one of four inches heretofore used ona wheel, and to add my protective casing without perceptible increase in diameter of the cushionportion of the wheel, and my improved device also permits the employment of the usual pneumatic tires now in use, even if the same have been considerably worn in use.

I provide considerable space cross-sect1onally in my improved device for the spreading of the pneumatic tire-member in operation. Thus, adjacent to the peripheral portion I provide spaces 90, into which the tread-portion of the tire-structure may be spread, this space being at the respective sides of the tread-ring 62 at the inner face of the peripheral portion of-the tread-member. I also provide spaces 91 at the respective sides of the-base of the outer casing. If desired, the sides of the flexible. tire-structure may be provided with contact plates 92, arranged annularly about said flexible tirestructure, to receive any impact or rubbing there might be between the said tire-structure and the inner faces ofthe sideflanges 25, 26. The abutment-rings 27 are split rings as shown at 27 to permit their ready insertion in the clencher-grooves 28. If desired, the flat inner faces 29, against which the flat outer faces 30 of the base of the flexible casing are received, may be formed on the flanges 25, 26. There is preferably a space 93 between said pneumatic tire-structure and each of said side-flanges, to permit substantial vield of the pneumatic tire-structure to weight, impacts or compressive actions, prior to such rubbing action.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a body-member, a pneumatic tire-member around the same, said body-member provided with annularly arranged shoulders, and a pluri-part protective casing received about said tire-member and comprising an inner member and an outer member, said inner member normally having lateral movement with relation to said shoulders parallel to the axis of rotation of said wheel and locked in place against said shoulders solely by the expansive action of said pneumatic tire-member, the outer and inner parts of said pluri-part protective casing having vertical guiding movement betwecn'them 2. A protective casing for a vehicle wheel comprising a pair of side-flanges, means for limiting separating movement between said side-flanges, said side-flanges normally having guided movement between them parallel to the aXis of rotation of said 'vehicle wheel relative to said limiting means, and an in flatable cushion causing separation between said side-flanges in directions substantially parallel to the axis. of rotation of said vehicle wheel into coaction with said limiting means. i

3. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a supporting member, an inflatable tire-strum ture thereabout, side-flanges, said supporting member provided with an abutment for one of said side-flanges for limiting outward lateral movement thereof, said last-named side-flange normally having lateral movement toward and from said abutment, said side-flanges arranged for being separated for exerting pressure toward said abutment by inflation of said tire-structure, and a tread-member guided by said side-flanges in I and a side-flange for limiting relative rotation between the same.

5. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a supporting member, an inflatable tirestructure, side-flanges, said supporting member provided with abutting means for limiting separation of said side-flanges, said sideflanges normally having movement between them on said supporting member, said sideflanges arranged for being separated for ex erting pressure toward said abutting means by inflation of said tire-structure, a treadmember guided by said side-flanges, an annularly arranged limiting means between said tread-member and said side-flanges for limiting approach of said treadmember to- .ward said supporting member and thereby forming an annular cavity in which said inflatable tire-structure is located and protected from total collapse.

6. In combination, in a vehicle wheel, a body-member, an inflatable flexible tire around the same, said inflatable flexible tire having a base-portion arranged to spread 4 tire and arranged to 7 said inflatable flexible tire and said inwardly extending flange, said side-flange normally having lateral movement on said body-member parallel to the axis of rotation of the wheel toward and from said lateral abutment, said side-flange having a base rigid therewith received between said lateral abutment and said base-portion of said inflatable be pressed toward said lateral abutment by the spread of said baseportion upon inflation of said inflatable.

flexible tire for positioning said" side-flange in sliding relation with said inwardly extending flange.

7. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a body-member, a pair of side-flanges extending outwardly therefrom, an inflatable flexible tire around said body-member between said side-flanges, a tread-member around said inflatable flexible tire, said treadmember provided with inwardly extending flanges coacting with said side-flanges,

said inflatable flexible tire having a baseportion arranged to spread upon inflation of said tire, one of said side-flanges normally loosely arranged about said body-member for lateral movement thereon, said bodymember provided with an annularly arranged shoulder for limiting the outward movement of said last-named side-flange, said last-named side-flange pressed .outwardly into coacting relation with said shoulder by the spreading of said base-portion upon inflation of said inflatable tire and thereby positioning said side-flanges into guiding relation with said inwardly extending flanges. 4

8. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a body-member, a pair of side-flanges having slip-connection therewith in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of said wheel Iand positioned vertically by said body-memer, said body-member between said side-flanges, a tread-member received about said inflatable flexible tire and provided with a pair of inwardly extending flanges, said bodymember provided with annularly arranged shoulders, said inflatable flexible tire having an inflatable flexible tire received about a base-portion-coacting withsaid side-flanges arranged to spread upon inflation of said tire, said side-flanges forced apart into slideflanges solely by the spreading of said baseportion upon inflation of said inflatable connection with said inwardly extending flexible tire, and said annularly arranged shoulders limiting said spreading movement 1 of said'side-flanges.

9. In a vehicle wheel, the combination of a body-member provided with an annularly arranged shoulder, a pairv of annularly arranged side-flanges, a removable ring proable ring and causing separation between said side-flanges for positioning the same in sliding relation with said inwardly extend ing flanges.

10. A protective casing for a vehicle wheel comprising a-supporting part, a pair of out- Wardly extending side flanges extending therefrom, a tread-member having a pair of inwardly extending side-flanges having slideconnection with said first-named side-flanges, an inflatable-cushion between said. supporting part and said tread-member located between said flanges, said tread-member comvided with contact-faces, said removable ring I positioned outwardly by. said annularly ar-' prising a pair of parts on each ofwhich one of said flanges thereof is located, saidpair of parts separable by relative rotative and J axial movement between said parts, there- H spective flanges of said pairs of flanges 00- actin witheach other, said coact ing flanges provi ed wlth recesses, locking disks of less diameters than said recesses received in said;

recesses. v v. In testimony whereof, I have hereuntc signed my name in the presence of two sub-1 recesses, and releasable closing caps for said j l'flo 

